Andreas Bolik

Ameliasburgh Ward Four

Andreas Bolik spent 37 years serving his country in uniform, and now he wants to serve his community by being a voice for the people in Ameliasburgh. Bolik reached the rank of Major, and his history of service left him with a skillset that is unique. Bolik thinks he would be well-suited for municipal politics. His background and experience in engineering and law have provided him with critical thinking skills that he hopes will assist council in tackling complex issues and find better ways of doing things that need to get done. Bolik also considers himself a team player and looks to cooperate with other council members to build a strategic vision for the County, while ensuring that the interests of Ameliasburgh residents are well represented.

Born in Toronto, Bolik spent most of his formative years in the Georgian Bay area of Penetanguishene. He went to Ryerson for his undergrad in Aerospace Engineering. He was a reservist at the time, and after school transferred to the regular force where he spent the next 24 years. During that time he switched his focus to law and went to law school at the University of British Columbia. He has lived in the County for nine years and has a small hobby farm on Rednersville Road with his wife and two kids.

Bolik’s uniform precluded him running for council in the past. Now that his status is back to reservist, his main job is to assist soldiers legally with court-marshalls, and he cleared all the conflict of interest issues. Bolik still has some strict guidelines to go by as an active member of the service, but he wants to make it clear that he is not running as a military member, he is running as a resident of Prince Edward County and strictly in his civilian capacity.

For concerns facing Ward Four, Bolik says that he has spoken to many of the residents, and the two main issues are taxes and infrastructure.

“The people on the west end of Rednersville Road are wondering when they are going to get their road upgraded. The east end of Rednersville is looking great, but the west end is still in rough shape. There is no consistency,” says Bolik.

Bolik also points out that the residents of Ward Four want to make sure their voices are heard in Picton. Like other people running in Ward Four, Bolik has noticed that Ameliasburgh residents feel isolated and that their concerns may not be heard as loudly as ones from Picton or Wellington, where the population density is greater. Part of that issue is that Picton and Shire Hall are 50 kilometres away and Trenton is just five kilometres away. Bolik feels a lot of residents on the north end of the County work and shop in neighbouring municipalities. “We need to work as a community. Some people in Ward Four are concerned that Picton is happy to take their money but not so happy to address their problems,” says Bolik.

For being so remote, Ameliasburgh carries the lion’s share of the population. The area carries three out of the twelve council seats and has a quarter of the County’s population. Ward Four also carries 30 to 40 per cent of the tax base. For Bolik, he wants to make sure that the residents of Ameliasburgh feel confident about their voice being heard around the horseshoe. His past experiences dealing with a myriad of different scenarios in the service has given Bolik the opportunity to think on his feet, and act on things with confidence.

Bolik also worries about the number of consultants being hired by the County to address issues. His point being that there are twelve community consultants hired by the people of the County by the way of councillors, who should have more confidence in their own decision-making abilities. Less spending and more actions taken by council will be a focus for Bolik if he is elected.